NCFHE chairman says on-site AUM spotchecks have taken place, in ongoing contact with entity
The chairman for the National Commission for Further and Higher Education (NCFHE) Godfrey Vella has confirmed with The Malta Independent that on-site spot-checks have been carried out and that the commission is in ongoing contact with the American University of Malta (AUM).
In addition, he also stressed that AUM has not been in breach of the conditions attached to its accreditation as a university.
NCFHE is the body which grants accreditation for educational establishments, should they meet the requirements, and is also tasked with ensuring quality education and programmes offered across Malta and Gozo.
It granted the licence for AUM to operate as a university in September 2016. AUM opened its doors to students in September 2017 and ended its first academic with just 15 students, far fewer than what was projected.
Numerous media reports revealed how the AUM had began firing some faculty members in September and October, while a whopping 12 academic faculty were abruptly let go over the Christmas holidays just before their probationary period ended. Most faculty members had signed three year work contracts and many uprooted their lives to relocate to sunny Malta, only to have to begin the job search and start thinking about relocating elsewhere all over again.
Between May and June 2017, public sector full-time employment increased by 1,367 persons to 45,721, data published yesterday by the National Statistics Office shows.
During the same period, registered full-time employment in the private sector went up by 8,634 persons to 145,657. A general election was held on 3 June 2017. In June 2017, registered full-time employment increased by 5.5% while part-time employment as a primary job increased by nearly 1% when compared to the corresponding month in 2016, the NSO said.
Administrative data provided by Jobsplus show that, over a period of one year, the labour supply increased by 4.9%, reaching 193,810.
This was mainly attributed to a year on year increase in the full-time gainfully occupied population (10,001) and further complimented by a drop in registered unemployment (1,009).
Registered full-time employment
In June 2017, administrative and support service activities and public administration and defence; compulsory social security contributed mostly to the increase in employment, compared to June 2016.
The number of persons registered as full-time selfemployed rose by 703 when compared to June 2016, while the number of persons registered as employees increased by 9,298.
Full-time employment for males and females went up by 4.4% and 7.5% respectively over 2016 levels.
Registered part-time employment
Registered part-time employment in June 2017 went up by 4.4% when compared to a year earlier.
The sectors that contributed most to the overall increase were wholesale and retail trade; repair of motor vehicles and motorcycles and professional, scientific and technical activities.
The number of part-timers who also held a fulltime job amounted to 25,659 up by 9.7% when compared to the corresponding month in 2016.
Employed persons whose part-time job was their primary occupation totalled 35,671, up by nearly 1% when compared to 2016.